Apple Inc. (AAPL) has filed a lawsuit targeting two former senior employees and the artificial intelligence company OpenAI over alleged trade secret theft.
The suit was filed in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California, naming Chang Liu, Tang Yew Tan, OpenAI Foundation, OpenAI Group PBC, and io Products LLC as defendants.
Apple’s complaint alleges trade secret misappropriation and breach of contract against all named parties in the case.
Chang Liu, a former Senior System Electrical Engineer at Apple, is accused of retaining a company-issued laptop and exploiting a network bug to access Apple’s internal systems.
According to the filing, Liu used that unauthorized access to download confidential files related to unreleased Apple products before leaving the company.
Tang Yew Tan, a former Vice President of Product Design for iPhone and Apple Watch, now serves as OpenAI’s Chief Hardware Officer.
Apple alleges that Tan used the company’s proprietary supplier and product information to recruit employees and advance OpenAI’s hardware development projects.
The complaint further claims that OpenAI, through its acquisition of io Products, engaged in a coordinated effort to obtain Apple’s trade secrets, including manufacturing techniques and supplier relationships.
Apple argued in the filing that OpenAI’s hardware business is “rotten to its core” due to its alleged reliance on stolen information from Apple.
The iPhone maker says it attempted to raise concerns with OpenAI earlier this year before pursuing legal action, but received no response from the company.
Apple is now seeking both an injunction to stop the alleged misuse of its proprietary information and financial damages from all defendants named in the suit.
The case highlights growing tensions between Silicon Valley’s established technology giants and newer AI-focused companies competing aggressively for engineering and design talent.
Trade secret litigation has become an increasingly common battleground as major technology firms attempt to protect the proprietary knowledge that underpins their most sensitive hardware and software projects.
AAPL closed the most recent regular trading session at $315.32, down $0.90 or 0.28% on the day.
